FRIDAYEXTRA !
The Daily Astorian
Friday, August 19, 2016
Weekend Edition
Photos by Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian
The Chinook canoe was coveted by Meriwether Lewis during the Corps of Discovery’s expedition on the North Coast.
High prow canoes were designed
for the ocean and high waves
By KYLE SPURR
The Daily Astorian
O
utside the visitor’s center at
Lewis and Clark National
Historical Park, a historically
accurate Chinook canoe is back on
display after being fully repaired last
year.
The Okulam canoe shows park vis-
itors the most popular type of canoe
used by the Chinook tribe for more
than two centuries. The style is known
as a “high prow,” and is designed for
the ocean and high waves. “This canoe
was really made to resemble a canoe
at the time of Lewis and Clark,” Tony
Johnson, chairman of the Chinook
Indian Nation, said during a talk in
Astoria last winter.
Johnson, a master canoe carver,
restored Okulam from January 2015
to May, when it returned to the park
in time for this summer. Since it was
built 15 years ago, cracks in Okulam
started to expand and the canoe began
to unravel. Part of the reason Okulam
fell into disrepair is because it dried
out on land, rather than being used
regularly in the water.
Johnson began constructing the
canoe in 2001, and worked on it at the
park for visitors to watch and learn.
Okulam originally went on display in
2003, after a naming ceremony.
Okulam means “Sound of the
Ocean,” or “Spit Belly,” the name
of a gluttonous creature in Chinook
culture.
The canoe was carved from a West-
ern red cedar log. It was carved upside
down, and steamed until it split apart.
“You are literally steaming it and it
releases and opens up,” Jill Harding,
who is in charge of visitor services at
Lewis and Clark National Historical
Park, said. “That gives it the shape.”
High prow canoes — painted in
traditional red and black colors— are
considered the most common used
by the Chinook people. They move
swiftly through the water and are
extremely maneuverable.
“They are incredible, especially
compared to Lewis and Clark canoes,”
Harding said.
Lewis and Clark’s canoes were
bulky, tipped easily and were hard to
turn. According to historians, Lewis
and Clark were impressed with
the high prow canoes and eagerly
attempted to trade for them. Meri-
wether Lewis traded one of his mili-
tary coats and tobacco for a high prow
canoe.
At one point during their stay on
the North Coast, Corps of Discov-
ery members stole a high prow canoe
from the Chinook tribe. The mem-
bers were caught when they paddled
the stolen canoe in the same inlet as
a Chinook tribe member, who recog-
nized his canoe.
Lewis and Clark gave away three
elk hides to keep the canoe.
The Chinook Indian Nation uses
their canoes in family gatherings,
ceremonies and annual tribal jour-
neys. Johnson is reviving the Chinook
canoe culture by building and restor-
ing canoes like Okulam.
“With canoes, they are part of the
living culture,” Harding said. “They
are part of the family.”
The Okulam canoe carved by Tony Johnson is on display at Fort Clat-
sop in Lewis and Clark National Historical Park.
Jill Harding, who is in charge of visitor services at Lewis and Clark Na-
tional Historical Park, explains the history behind the Okulam canoe.
The Okulam canoe carved by Tony Johnson.
‘With canoes, they are part of the living culture.
They are part of the family.’
Jill Harding
head of visitor services at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park